Intersecting Alliances: Non-Palestinian Activists in Support of Palestine

Abstract:

Influenced by social identity theory, psychologists have focused primarily on the role
of shared identity in leading people to engage in collective action. In this study, we are
concerned with the factors that lead individuals who do not share a collective identity
to act in solidarity with an outgroup. We explored this question by looking at the
narratives and motives that brought non-Palestinian university students to participate in
collective action for Palestine. In-depth interviews with campus activists and a yearlong
observation of campus debates over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict suggested a number
of motives for solidarity activism. First, activists drew parallels between their in-group
collective narrative and the collective narrative of the Palestinians. Second, an intersectional
narrative of identity increased activist self-efficacy by highlighting the ways
that activists were both marginalized and privileged. Third, activists explained their
affinity to these narratives as rooted in personal experiences with marginalization and
discrimination. A final motive arose through the practice of coalition building that
further empowered students of different minority groups. Findings from this study
contribute to an understanding of the current surge in Palestinian solidarity activism on
college campuses in the United States.